Summary

Working and rest time is one of the most regulated fields in labour law. This is evident in the Estonian Employment Contracts Act, in which, in addition to Division 3 of Chapter 3 of the detailed regulation, subsection 115 (1) provides the Labour Inspectorate with the authority to exercise state supervision over the fulfilment of the requirements of working and resting time and prescribes sanctions for their violation in §§ 121–127. While the principle of safe flexibility was the basis for preparing the Employment Contracts Act, the emphasis is on safety when it comes to regulating working time.

Across the European Union, the minimum requirements for the working and resting times of road transportation sector employees have been harmonised. This has arisen from the need to protect employees, although in the case of mobile employees, the aspects regarding ensuring road safety and harmonising competitive conditions are added. Therefore, driving time, daily and weekly rest periods and work-day breaks are strictly regulated in the case of the working time of mobile employees. All of this is regulated by joint regulations that are in force throughout the EU. States only regulate the working time of mobile employees, including driving time together with time needed for other work tasks. The working and resting time of non-mobile employees is regulated by national legislation.

The article provides an overview of the regulation of the working and resting time of mobile and non-mobile employees in the field of road freight transportation.